In the last decade, a rapidly increasing demand in the development of microwave, millimeter-wave and wireless communication systems can be observed. There are few other areas in which such enormous changes like those of nonlinear network design can be recognized. In the past, the active devices and their technology have moved from classical solutions to solid state performances and their integration. Currently, the monolithic integrated circuit designs become predominant, and following this, the classical circuit design has been shifted to advanced techniques both in time, frequency and mixed domains.

This workshop will present in depth tutorial discussions as well as new developments in techniques for analyzing nonlinear circuits. It will provide discussions on problems of new ideas like application of wavelets in nonlinear network design or fundamental aspects of circuit simulation aspects.

Furthermore, this workshop will supply a forum for discussion on present important topics and possible new developments in the future. This event will also provide a platform for participants to introduce their results or suggestions by presenting their transparencies and explaining their point of view.

1:00 pm­5:00 pm

WSG: High Power RF Si: Devices, Modules and Trends

Not only at low level designs but also at high power levels Si continues to be the work horse of high power solid state applications. Device design improvements, new packaging concepts and new high volume manufacturing approaches have pushed Si far ahead of any other competing technology when it comes to power. In fact, Si competes with itself with BJT and MOSFET designs, from SiGe to SiC cousins, racing to fill the need created by the wireless telecommunications boom.

Speakers who specialize in various aspect of device design, modeling, manufacturing and testing, will review the state of the art in Si RF power technology, mechanical and electrical limitations, cost drivers, reliability issues and new packaging approaches. We will try to identify fundamental limitations to performance and cost. We will ask application experts to predict and rationalize future trends in power, frequency and integration.

WSK: Dynamics of the Microwave Workbench

The growing use of digital communication systems has complicated RF circuit design. The complexity of modern communication systems confronts designers with the non-trivial task of interpreting and translating system demands into circuit specifications.

Additionally, verification of simulated with measured results is an indispensable part of the design procedure. To excite the RF circuit one can make use of commercially available instruments. The signals generated are, however, not readily accessible to the simulator in use and form a significant bottleneck for the verification. Furthermore, these instruments are limited to the generation of a limited set of complex digital signals, while the designer often requires a broader selection of complex digital signals combined with for example noise, phase-noise or pre-correction information.

This workshop examines the trends in simulation at the system and circuit level, including the link to hardware realization, modeling and test with specific attention being paid to aspects of standardization in software and hardware design.

Significant advances in computational electromagnetics continue to be made. They have been implemented in widely available commercial software as well as dedicated in-house software. They are applied to microwave filter simulation, modeling, synthesis and design, and EM validation. They are accompanied by novel modeling and design concepts involving parameterization of arbitrary geometries, space mapping and surrogate modeling, the adjoint sensitivity method, reduced-order modeling and equivalent circuit extraction, artificial neural network representation, genetic algorithms and fast frequency sweeps.

Optimal design more closely and automatically integrates EM and circuit simulations directly into the design and manufacturing process in a manner increasingly transparent to the designer. This workshop will address the state of the art from component modeling to multiplexer design. Expectations of using EM simulators as effective tools in an automated design environment continue to be raised based on considerable work currently in progress. We emphasize optimization methodologies as a cornerstone in simulation, modeling, design and manufacturing.

This workshop will draw upon the popularity and success of recent workshops involving electromagnetics and CAD. A balance between theory, implementation and practical discussions of computational and design issues will be struck so that the workshop will have wide appeal.

Just as second generation digital wireless systems such as GSM or cdmaOne have been widely deployed, work is well underway to develop third generation (3G) wireless networks which are called International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT-2000), and in Europe, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). These networks will add broadband data to support video, Internet access and other high speed data services for untethered devices. This workshop provides comprehensive fundamental and practical technical information about the RF-related system and RFIC issues of 3G W-CDMA systems like UMTS, cdma2000 etc., technologies that will play a major role in the future of wireless telecommunications. The information presented here is targeted at RF engineering professionals and wireless practitioners.

This workshop will begin by introducing spread spectrum and CDMA basics. The second Section gives a description of the 3GPP system specifications. Sections 3 and 4 will deal in detail with RF-related 3GPP test cases and simulation issues. Here, pertinent RF system requirements derived from the 3GPP test cases such as duplexing, transmit frequency stability, output power dynamics, adjacent channel leakage ratio, modulation accuracy, maximum and minimum input signal levels, adjacent channel selectivity, and blocking and intermodulation characteristics are presented. Moreover, 3GPP-related simulation scenarios are discussed and simulation results for various system issues like dependence of bit error rate from adjacent channel selectivity or influence of transmitter characteristics on error vector magnitude are presented. Section 5 will focus on the evolution from 2G to 3G transmitter and receiver architectures (e.g., Tx heterodyne and direct up-conversion, Rx heterodyne and homodyne, etc.). The pros and cons of various concepts will be investigated both from the performance and the economical point of view. In particular, the RF front-end challenges associated with multimode and multiband systems (concerning antennas, switches, filters, power amplifiers, frequency synthesizers) are addressed. In Sections 6 and 7, BiCMOS and SiGe RFICs successfully designed for commercial applications using Infineon semiconductor processes will be presented. Finally, in Section 8 the feasibility of UMTS transceivers fabricated from CMOS technologies in the 2 GHz band are investigated. Here, the linearity of the baseband filters and second-order intermodulation of the mixers play an important role.

WSC: RF and High Speed Applications of Tunnel Devices

In recent years personal mobility and the attraction for portable devices have led to an explosive growth in wireless communication products. The requirements of flexibility and fast accesses to data are the driving forces for the introduction of advanced applications at higher and higher frequencies. These applications make severe demands on the technology required to implement them, with current solutions involving a mixture of technologies.

One proposed new technology is the use of Tunnel Devices. Quantum mechanical tunneling is a transport process that dominates as device dimensions get smaller and smaller. A tunnel diode is arranged so that electron-tunneling rate is reduced in a certain range of biases, leading to a negative differential resistance (NDR) characteristic. A tunnel diode can be integrated with a transistor resulting in a novel, multifunctional device.

The non-linear and unique NDR characteristic of a tunnel device is useful for both digital and RF applications and is the defining feature of this new technology. Many circuits that utilize tunnel devices have been proposed and demonstrated for both digital and Analog/MMIC applications (like adders, SRAMs, XNORs, A/D converters, oscillators, frequency multipliers, amplifiers, mixers, receivers and antennas). Novel and innovative circuit ideas and topologies have made effective use of the enhanced functionality of the tunnel devices making this new technology attractive.

Advantages of this technology include:

·reduction in circuit complexity and die size

·multifunctional ICs with superior performance

·low power and low voltage operation (down to less than 1.0 V)

The device technology must be optimized to meet the specific performance requirements and properties of each circuit. Recent advances in materials research have enabled tunnel diodes to meet these challenges. Heterostructure band-gap engineering has led to the achievement of tunnel diodes with high peak current densities and good peak-to-valley current ratios.

This workshop will present a comprehensive overview of this new tunnel device technology and its applications in RF and digital circuits. The current status of tunnel diode physics and modeling will be reviewed along with measurement techniques and noise suppression. Tunnel device growth and issues in integrating it with other semiconductor devices and circuits will be discussed. A variety of MMIC applications such as VCOs, amplifiers, mixers, receivers, antennas, mm-wave radiometry and imaging applications, and A/D circuits will be presented. Circuit and system level specifications and considerations will be discussed.

The explosive growth in communications has been driven by two complementary technologies: optical fiber and wireless communications. Fiber provides the massive bandwidth potential that has fueled the rise in Internet traffic, while wireless techniques confer mobility. The two technologies are starting to converge into fiber-radio systems, in which broadband services such as video on demand will be delivered over fiber to mm-wave picocells. In tandem with this, fiber communications is entering the era of Tb/s data rates.

This workshop will provide an overview of microwave photonic component technology and its system application in fiber-radio systems. It will begin with a tutorial introduction to fiber radio systems, followed by talks on state-of-the-art approaches to distribution of mm-waves over fiber and remote up-conversion techniques. Attention will then turn to the component integration technologies that will be needed for low cost fiber-radio modules, including: multichip modules, MMICs, OEICs and silicon micromachining/MEMs for passive fiber alignment.

WSE: Advanced LTCC Microwave Design and Manufacturing Issues

During the past few years, LTCC (Low Temperature Cofired Ceramics) has become an enabling technology for wireless applications from GSM, CDMA, TDMA, Bluetooth and Wireless LAN at the lower microwave frequency end up to the millimeter-wave region for such applications as LMDS at 30 GHz etc. This technology is able to provide cost-effective hardware solutions suitable for high volume manufacturing into multimillion production quantities. The LTCC circuit medium allows reduced development cycles and thus short time-to-market. It is capable of complexities up to systems in a package and has been demonstrated to be competitive in terms of excellent high frequency performance, high power handling, innovative compact 3D structures like baluns, couplers etc. and thus miniaturization.

Advanced LTCC issues include the use of mixed dielectric constants, low loss materials, photo patterned conductors, high density buried or passive circuit elements and the reach-out towards applications at 40 GHz and beyond.

The workshop will bring together contributors from LTCC design and manufacturing groups worldwide. It will focus on the still unsolved 3D multilayer design issues in close relation to volume manufacturing issues and the trends towards innovative materials, high resolution patterning, buried non-ideal ground planes, higher frequencies and improved thermal management.

WSH: Web-based RF and Microwave Education

Recent developments in information technology, in general, and Internet technology in particular are changing the functionality of our society, and are likely to change current education and continuing-education enterprise in profound ways. Today, the courses offered at various universities are often supplemented by a supporting Web site and continuing education is becoming increasingly Web-based. RF and microwave education and continuing education need to take advantage of these technological advances in order to (i) attract more students to RF and microwave areas, and (ii) to help young MTT-S members in their early career development through conveniently delivered continuing education. Recognizing the urgency of this need, MTT Society has sponsored development of multimedia educational tools at two US universities, and is planning a special issue and an electronically published supplement of IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques dedicated to "RF and Microwave Tutorials" in 2002. These are the first steps by MTT Society in making Web-based RF and microwave tutorials available to MTT-S members.

The goal of this workshop is to discuss what is available today in Web-based and Web-assisted RF and microwave education, what needs to be done, and how could educators in RF and microwave area could make use of Web technology for benefiting MTT-S membership. Participants are encouraged to bring a couple of viewgraphs to express their viewpoints and share their thoughts.

The MEMS area is quickly developing and new devices such as low loss phase shifters, high Q varactors, tunable filters, re-configurable antennas and low phase noise oscillators are being developed using this technology. The purpose of this workshop is to give the audience an overview of the latest results obtained in US and international laboratories and to emphasize the new research/development directions (packaging, reliability, power handling issues, Brownian noise, acceleration noise, etc.) needed for the success of this field.

The full day workshop will cover a wide range of areas, such as MEMS phase shifters, MEMS tunable filters, MEMS packaging techniques using MEMS switches and varactors. Also, the effect of Brownian, acceleration, and microphonic noise on MEMS circuits will be considered in this workshop. The workshop will conclude with a discussion on the reliability and failure modes of MEMS-based devices.

WSJ: Ferrite Devices and Materials for Millimeter-wave Applications

Improved phase shifters and nonreciprocal devices are required to support the increasing utilization of the mm-wave spectrum for commercial and defense applications. Existing defense applications, e.g. missile seekers, are typically narrow band and improvements are aimed at reduced cost, size and insertion loss. However, future high data rate (SATCOM and short-range) communications applications and army radars will require increased bandwidth and improved producibility. The properties, characterization and fabrication of mm-wave ferrite materials for mm-wave device applications will be reviewed. The development and applications of high power control components for wideband radar and satellite communications will be described. Compact mm-wave ferrite devices will require significant improvements in performance and integration into low cost RF packaging and planar phase shifter configurations suitable for LTCC fabrication will be discussed. Alternatives to ferrite devices are also under development and cooled semiconductors are candidates for some very high frequency non-reciprocal device applications. Ferroelectric materials and MEMS are also candidates for mm-wave phase shifters and their performance will be compared with the equivalent ferrite devices. Commercial and defense systems requirements for ferrite control components, the current state of the art, potential for future device and materials developments and comparisons with non-ferrite approaches will be reviewed in detail.

Monday, May 21, 2001

8:00 am­12:00 pm

WMF: High Density/Multilayer RF Interconnects

There is a growing need to reduce the size and cost of RFICs and highly integrated RF systems on a chip for smaller consumer products and to enable their insertion into microwave and millimeter-wave phased array antennas. To satisfy this goal, circuits and packages are now incorporating multiple layers of wiring. Furthermore, more functions than simple routing are being performed in these multilayer circuits through the incorporation of embedded passive elements and multiple interconnects between layers. This workshop will present the challenges, state of the art, and possibilities of multilayer circuits. Presentations will describe multilayer circuits fabricated with micromachined Si wafers, thin film technologies, and thick film technologies.

WMG: High Performance and Emerging Filter Technologies for Wireless

Wireless applications are growing at a tremendous rate and high-performance filters are an integral part of wireless communication systems. Evolution of existing filter technologies and new emerging filter technologies fundamentally influence system implementation. New third-generation wireless requirements are even more demanding than those in existing networks, in part because of the high data rates required for many envisioned applications, such as Internet access. This workshop begins by overviewing present and future filter requirements for wireless systems. Recent evolution of traditional filter technologies will be summarized, including dielectric, cavity, ceramic, waveguide, and SAW filters. New emerging filter technologies will be introduced and described, including microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), ferroelectric, micromachined (thin) film bulk-acoustic resonator (FBAR), and high temperature superconductive (HTS) filter technologies. Some aspects of the workshop will be tutorial. The goal is to provide an interactive forum in which the attendees gain a comprehensive understanding of the various filter technologies. At the conclusion of the workshop, a technology matrix will be presented to compare capabilities of the various technologies. A particular emphasis will be placed on changes to this matrix that have effectively occurred in the past three years. The matrix will include, for example, a comparison of SAW, ceramic, and FBAR technologies for wireless handset/mobile applications. The workshop will then close with an interactive discussion of the filter technology matrix

8:00 am­5:00 pm

WMA: Linearization for 3G Systems

3G systems are essential to provide more access to wireless communication with higher data rates. High data rates with Internet access are the objectives of these 3G systems. Modulation formats are needed with greater bandwidth efficiency and high data rates are required without losing phone capacity or features.

W-CDMA as well as EDGE for GSM systems are being developed to meet these challenges. With these 3G systems, more demands are being made on the linearity of systems to meet the specifications.

This workshop will first focus on the wideband CDMA and EDGE systems describing their operation and linearity requirements. Next the various linearization techniques will be described and compared. These include predistortion, feedback, and feed forward including DSP adaptive techniques. Other linearization issues will be discussed. Finally speakers will address the latest linearization methods for 3G systems showing implementation as well as results.

WMB: Statistical Design and Modeling Techniques for Microwave CAD

There have been extraordinary advances in EM-based modeling capabilities, mixed linear/nonlinear field/circuit simulation, applications of wavelets, and space mapping and knowledge based artificial neural network (ANN) technology for enhanced empirical modeling and CAD. These technologies address increased complexity of VLSI, RF and microwave circuits to fulfill the industrial demand for faster design cycle and reducing time to market for electronic products. Competition within the fast growing EDA market must lead to incorporation of these technologies in future releases of commercial software.

An objective of this workshop is a tutorial review of the state-of-the-art and discussion of implementable methodologies, strategies and software. It will be substantially physically and electromagnetically oriented. It will also highlight advances in ANNs as an unconventional alternative to modeling and design tasks in RF and microwave CAD. ANN computation is very fast and ANNs can learn and generalize from data allowing model development even when component formulas are unavailable. Initiatives in integration of ANN capabilities into circuit optimization, statistical design, global modeling, and computational electromagnetics are being made.

With the increase in geometrical and physical complexity of RF, microwave and high-speed digital circuits, techniques to improve the yield and reduce the design cycles continue to grow in importance. An objective of this workshop is to present the theory and application of statistical design tools applicable to RF/microwave circuit design, manufacturing and experimental research. By considering component tolerances in terms of a statistical distribution around the nominal value instead of a range, we can apply Monte Carlo methods and other optimization techniques over a large sample space. Thus, we can study the influence of random variations of significant factors and their interactions upon the circuit performance. Monte Carlo and space-domain statistical optimization techniques for yield maximization will be discussed.

We will consider characterization of random measurement errors, parametric effects and their interactions on the outcome of an experiment. A statistical design tool called Design of Experiments (DOE) provides a powerful methodology to systematically characterize the influence of main effects and their interactions. We will briefly cover the theory of DOE and apply it to some RF/microwave problems in the experimental arena.

WMC: ICs for 40 Gbit/s Data Rate Communications

Digital communications systems are already developing rapidly, and with the explosion in Internet and mobile phone traffic, the demand for high data rate links is likely to rise exponentially. Current high capacity trunk links use fiber-optic cables and data rates defined by the synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) and synchronous optical network (SONET) systems. Most of these incumbent systems operate at STM-16 or 2.5 Gbit/s, with only the most recent systems operating at STM-64 or 10 Gbit/s data rates. The huge upsurge in demand means that bit rates in long-haul systems are expected to rise to STM-256 or 40 Gbit/s soon after the year 2000.

At these data rates the transmitted signal spectrum is extremely broadband and contains components from as low as 30 kHz, through microwave frequencies, up as high as mm-wave frequencies (40 GHz). This presents an interesting challenge to the IC designer who must multiplex up numerous low data rate signals into one 40 Gbit/s signal, drive the optical devices to send the signal down the optical fiber, amplify the detected signal at the far end, extract a clean clock signal and 40 Gbit/s data stream and de-multiplex it down into lower data rate signals. Digital engineers are challenged by the non square-wave shape of the high data rate signal and the need to consider transmission line effects, whilst analogue designers are challenged by jitter specifications and the need for time domain analysis.

The aim of this workshop is to debate the mixed-signal issues involved with integrated circuit design for 40 Gbit/s data rate communications systems, and expand on the technology and techniques being used by industry leaders within this field.

The purpose of the workshop will be to acquaint engineers with the capabilities of ceramic technologies for realizing wireless and microwave circuits and systems. For the year 2001, increased emphasis will be placed on more advanced design techniques and applications.

The reason for running the workshop is that ceramic technologies are generally less familiar to design engineers and yet offer significant benefits in terms of circuit performance, weight and reliability. These benefits need to be communicated to design engineers to allow them to realize appropriate circuit and system solutions. Newer technologies are advancing these benefits further, while at the same time driving costs down.

The current worldwide trend is to exploit the ultrahigh transmission capacity of lightwave communication technology to meet the ever-increasing bandwidth demand of long haul communications as well as Internet traffic. A large number of industries and academic institutes are investing resources and efforts to increase the data rate in communication and signal processing systems. The bandwidth of the transmission is dictated by the high speed electronics, which are used for transmission, reception and switching.

The recent advancement in the various semiconductor technologies opened up the possibility to achieve the required multigigabit IC performance. While 10 Gbit/s systems are commercially deployed and 40 Gbit/s systems are demonstrated at the laboratory level, several research teams are working on 100 Gb/s and beyond.

This workshop will bring several experts from around the world working in this area of technology. The presentations will describe the latest information on design, fabrication, measurement, applications and product development.

The workshop will start with an overview of the ultra-high speed ICs for commercial applications. The speakers will then present multigigabit circuits implemented with various state-of-the-art integrated circuit technologies like, InP HBT, SiGe HBT, InP HEMT, etc. The workshop will also cover presentations on signal processing including multi GS/s analog-to-digital conversion, optical networking as well as switching VHSICs and embedding/MCM issues of multigigabit systems.

12:00­1:15 pm

PMA: RF CMOS for Bluetooth

Advances in IC technologies have brought new opportunities to the modern-day wireless industry. These include new wireless LAN methods such as 802.11a, Home RF, and Bluetooth. A new age of wireless LAN will be built on a combination of breakthroughs in wireless communication methods and RF processes. However, there are many challenges facing implementers of low-cost silicon RF solutions. The focus of this panel discussion will be on:

·Technological barriers to implementing low cost transceivers. Is CMOS the right solution?

·What is the most appropriate system partitioning for implementing Bluetooth in the cellular handset? Single Chip, Module, or an integrated component inside the transceiver baseband?

The continuing drive for smaller, and better passive components fosters the development of new techniques and processes for power dividers and directional couplers of smaller size, lower loss, and greater bandwidth, often with requirements for good phase balance and high power handling. This session presents several papers on multiport combiners in planar and waveguide technologies, as well as a miniaturized 180° hybrid and a high directivity LTCC coupler.

The rapidly increasing demand on bit rate has led to enhancements in the enabling microwave photonic components. This session highlights several very exciting technology and subsystem developments. The opening paper demonstrates an unique 3-dimensional integration of photonic components on a silicon substrate. This is followed by a series of papers that focus on components and component integration for signal generation and detection, including the direct opto-electronic generation of mW level millimeter-wave signals without the need for any electrical amplification. The session closes with the description of a novel application of semiconductor optical amplifiers to minimize dispersion effects in RF/mm-wave optical links.

This year's session on biological effects and microwave and millimeter-wave application includes the most diverse topics in many years. The studies reported on the investigation of the temperature profiles in the human head as a result of use of cellular telephones. Also included are reports on fundamental research describing the effect of low-intensity radio-frequency on calcium binding and related potassium channel behaviour. In addition, new and improved microwave and millimeter wave applications such as sensing DNA hybridization, sensing of vital signs, microwave radiometer, and planar strip array antenna for MRI allowing significant reduction in scan time will be discussed.

What is one-chip radio? Is this a reality in today's technology or in the future? Where is the System on Chip (SOC) appropriate: WLAN, CDMA, Bluetooth or ever? What module technologies, if any, will provide System on Package (SOP) solutions? This panel will debate the potential of these integration paradigms from various perspectives including:

·Technology mix: RF, MEMS, passive components, DSPs and sensors

·Time to market, yield and cost

·Device technologies: SiGe, GaAs, CMOS and BiCMOS

·Reusable functional blocks

·Integral and embedded passive components

·System architectures and testing

·On-chip and off-chip components

·Communication standards and frequency

·Applications and examples of SOC and SOP

1:20­3:00 pm

TU3B Baluns, Spiral Inductors and Resonators

Chair: A. Fathy Co-chair: George Ponchak

High Q compact spiral inductors, low loss wideband baluns, and highly stable dielectric resonators are widely used passive components. In this session, first, a high Q compact integrated inductor utilizing a ferrite sandwiched structure is presented, followed by an inductor fabricated using a novel 3-D GaAs technology where the inductor has a 4.9 nH inductance and a relatively high Q of 35.97 at 8.07 GHz, and then the results of the development of a vertical planar inductor using a novel plasma deformation magnetic assembly technique will be presented. Second, new ideas for low loss, wideband baluns that include graphical design methodology of an air gap stacked Marchand balun will be demonstrated. Third, a novel high Q stable dielectric resonator that has the potential of substantially improving the close-in carrier phase noise of low-noise oscillators will be discussed in detail.

Low cost filters with high RF performance and mass production capability are focused in this session. Dual/Triple mode filters reduce the size and can easily realize quasi-elliptic response. The session provides novel designs and applications and covers the important frequency ranges from mobile bands to Ka-band.

A wide range of control devices are presented. The applications span the range from cellular/PCS/3G bands through 76 GHz. The functional blocks included switches, phase shifters, and limiters featuring novel circuit techniques.

This session looks at a number of novel and inovative passive components and structures. The first paper investigates circuit design techniques to minimize the effect of the variation of material permittivity on electrical performance. The second paper looks at a new technique for realizing a 360° Analog Phase Shifter at 5.2 GHz. The next paper is concerned with the development of a periodic slow wave structure in CPW for filter applications. The fourth paper is concerned with compact branch line couplers and stubs in CPW at Ka/K band. Finally a LTCC balun for applicaton in Bluetooth systems is presented.

This session covers recent developments in RF MEMS circuits for control applications. These papers demonstrate the insertion of RF MEMS technology to low loss control circuits which will improve microwave system performance. Presented papers include important demonstrations in the areas of high performance switch networks, antenna tuners, and micromachined filters/resonators.

This Focused Session deals with surface acoustic wave (SAW) and bulk acoustic wave (BAW) devices for wireless applications. An Invited Paper reports on novel SAW solutions for wideband CDMA mobiles followed by the demonstration of a SAW-based passive wireless pressure and temperature sensor system for vehicular applications, a new SAW resonator technique for wideband VCOs, and an investigation of thin films to improve SAW device fidelity. The BAW part of the session incorporates two contributions dealing with a film bulk acoustic wave resonator (FBAR) duplexer for PCS applications and the characterization and simulation of FBAR devices.

In this session, a wide variety of transitions between different transmission structures are described. Included are microstrip, coplanar waveguide(CPW), coplanar strip(CPS), nonradiative dielectric guide (NRD), and rectangular waveguide. Some transitions feature very broad-bandwidth operation.

This session presents recent advances in high power device and amplifier technology at frequencies ranging from UHF to Ku-band. The first three papers focus primarily on advances in device technology: a high voltage (27V) GaAs HBT operating at 2 GHz, an InGaAs pHEMT device operating at 3.5 GHz with an output power of 10 W PEP and new SiC device and amplifier results at UHF and L-band. The fourth and fifth papers present high power amplifiers designed for W-CDMA base station applications. Both papers use a push-pull amplifier configuration and demonstrate output power levels of 240 and 300 W respectively. The final two papers in this session illustrate advances in amplifier integration such as a 1.9 kW amplifier operating at 2.7 to 2.9 GHz, and a Ku-band power amplifier for the Stentor satellite.

As the demand for more complex wireless systems grows to meet the seemingly insatiable appetite of the consumer marketplace, the pressure on the LO sources has kept pace. This session presents a variety of approaches and discussions of problem areas that the design engineer faces in his quest for the perfect signal source.

Time domain methods for electromagnetic field simulation are of growing interest since they are extremely well suited for treating broadband as well as transient phenomena and they are also applicable to general structures. The session concentrates on novel simulation schemes as well as on the improvement of already known schemes. Methods for the reduction of computational effort as well as improvement of convergence and accuracy are investigated, and interesting applications are presented.

New applications of periodic structures to waveguide and delay lines are reported. Followed by the analysis and characterization of the periodical structure, novel transmission lines are optimized for low loss. Use of periodical structure with elevated transmission lines, oxidized silicon and photon implanted substrates have demonstrated the potential for high performance.

The efficient transmission of information at high data rates requires highly linear amplifiers. A variety of approaches for increasing power amplifier linearity and related efficiency are presented in this session. These techniques are essential to satisfy 3G mobile radio and future personal communications standards. Variations of feedforward, predistortion and baseband digital linearization, and adaptive equalization are covered. A new method of optimizing LINC (Linear Amplification with Non-linear Components) is also included.

WE2D The NBS/NIST Centennial: One Hundred Years of RF Metrology and Standards

Chair: K. Remley Co-chair: C. Weil

NIST, the successor to the former National Bureau of Standards (NBS), celebrates its centennial year. Five NIST speakers will detail significant NBS/NIST contributions in measuring such fundamental quantities as frequency, time, power, resistance, voltage, and mass. Recent developments in primary NIST standards, such as the cesium fountain atomic clock, the Josephson AC voltage standard, and the "electronic kilogram" will also be highlighted.

Certain geometries of printed transmission lines experience power leakage to the surface-wave mode(s) of the surrounding substrate structure. Understanding such effects, that can be unexpected in many cases, are of critical significance to microwave printed circuits and packaging. Papers in this session will present the leaky-wave excitation, guidance and characteristic impedance modeling of such critical effects under various practical conditions.

This session will highlight some advances in time-domain numerical techniques. Among others, a new method will be introduced allowing a wideband simulation in multi-mode environment including evanescent modes. A modificated Yee's cell is proposed for modeling of longitudinally periodic structures. As an interesting approach, a discrete wavelet transform will be proposed for the computation of the near-field to near-field transform in a multi-region FDTD scheme. A global modeling approach using interpolating wavelets shows how to include semiconductor properities into field theoretical considerations. Next, a 3D unconditionally stable Alternating Direction Implicit-FDTD algorithm will be investigated.

This panel discusses circuit and antenna technologies that can be used for automotive radars, and tries to clarify the features that must be met by these components. The panel will address the following questions:

·What functions should an automotive radar be equipped with, now and in the future?

·What is the best automotive radar scheme?

·What device and circuit technologies will be most appropriate?

·What antenna technologies will be most appropriate?

·What issues still need to be addressed and solved?

PWB: University-Industry Interactions

Universities offer digital and VLSI design courses routinely at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The availability of high frequency analog, RF, microwave and millimeter-wave design courses is far less pervasive. This panel will discuss the ways in which universities and industry can work together to increase the supply of engineers who can design circuits for wireless and broadband applications. Questions that will be discussed include the following:

·Is industry handicapped by a real and persistent shortage of RF and microwave designers?

·What different forms of collaboration between industry and universities are being deployed?

·What are the advantages and disadvantages of each form of collaboration?

·Should government play a role in promoting interactions between industry and universities?

·What new approaches to collaboration can meet the needs of both industry and universities?

1:20­3:00 pm

WE3A Power Amplifiers for Wireless Applications

Chair: D. Teeter Co-chair: A. Platzker

This session highlights advances in power amplifier technologies and techniques for wireless applications. A number of competing technologies are emerging for commercial power amplifiers. 1800 MHz GSM PAs using silicon CMOS technology boast an impressive 55 percent PAE with 1 W associated output power. Amplifiers using E-mode PHEMTs are also being developed for GSM applications with efficiencies up to 61 percent. Techniques to enhance efficiency in the back-off mode of the power amplifier are also explored with modified Doherty configurations. The importance of the passive elements to the overall module performance is emphasized.

This session is focused on communication systems involving low cost LMDS transmitter modules and novel packaging techniques. In addition, the session includes papers on satellite applications and point-to-point digital radio links.

The first and still dominant commercial market for microwave photonics, is the distribution (unidirectional data flow) such as in cable television (CATV) services. However, there is a large market (potentially larger than CATV distribution) in the communication (bi-directional data flow) of high speed digital data. The market driving this application is the Internet, which has been growing at what can only be described as an explosive rate. For example, Internet traffic is doubling every 100 days; e-mail traffic alone has reached 95 million per month. Providing broadband access via the exisiting coax, optical and/or wireless plants means upgrading the present plants in two ways: 1. converting it to be addressable from a broadcast network, and 2. implementing bi-directional information flow instead of the present unidirectional flow. The technologies that are being developed to provide broadband access are coax cable, optical fiber and fixed or mobile wireless communications. This session will explore each of these approaches and their combination via invited speakers who are actively working in the field.

This session presents further innovative applications of neural networks to microwave CAD. This includes knowledge-aided design, sensitivity analysis and inverse space mapping. New concepts in geometrical parameterization and combining circuit level with FDTD simulations are also featured.

Time domain methods for the modeling of electromagnetic fields are increasingly used in practical applications of microwave circuit analysis and design. The papers in this session address a number of very practical problems and illustrate the degree of maturity time domain methods have reached to date. Topics like iris/slot coupling in combline filters, the characterization of multi-chip modules, parameter estimation of microwave distributed circuits, the combination of MOSFET models with lumped-element FDTD technique and the application of FDTD-based methods to optical problems are covered in detail.

Wireless communications systems are employing new technologies which require higher performance and lower implementation costs. This session looks at three technologies for realizing direct conversion digital receivers for handsets and high speed digital networks. The performance of a compact 38 GHz, 156 Mbps modulator will be described. The session will close with a paper on electromagnetic characterization of indoor wireless LANs.

This session will present new sensors for automotive, RFID and communications systems. The automotive radar papers attempt to decribe new methods of achieving low cost systems at 77 GHz that meet stringent design requirements. These papers overview three different approaches for the realization of these complex systems. Papers in this session will also discuss the development of two new types of retro-directive antenna arrays which have important application to wireless communications systems.

A number of satellite sytems have been proposed for broadband global/regional multimedia and Internet sevices via satellites. Many of these systems are at an advanced stage of development with projected deployment in 2003 to 2005 time frame. The topics to be addressed in this special session include satellite systems for multimedia, Ka-Band satellite architectures, Ku/Ka-Band interactive terminals for geostationary and non-geostationary satellites and performance issues for a linearized TWTA satellite channel.

This session presents a variety of CAD techniques including space mapping, model order reduction, and decomposition synthesis approach. Procedures for CAD of combline filters and waveguide iris design are described.

This session includes discussion, experiments and theory on novel devices and emerging technology in the field of microwave magnetics and ferroelectrics. Frequency selective limiters with very low thresholds based on magnetostatic waves are described. Also discussed are isolators based on non-reciprocal leaky waves and high performance millimeter-wave Faraday rotation isolators. New applications of ferrite materials in EMI and wireless technology are also reported in this session. Thin film ferroelectric materials have been developed for tunable device applications. Their application to microwave phase shifters are described. The session also presents new data on monolithic MOS varactors on silicon for high frequency application, and CPW based voltage-controlled delay lines using integrated BST varactors.

This session is dedicated to recent advances in microwave sources with special focus on low phase noise, broadband tunability, and high power generation with solid-state oscillators. GaAs-HBT, PHEMT, silicon, and GaN technologies are used in the different approaches. Error correcting techniques for noise reduction and piezoelectric tuning of oscillators conclude the session.

Synthesis techniques are used to formally validate designs which have previously been known and/or approximated. New structures are presented, as well as new methods for design. Some impressive results are presented.

Al Gross is considered the "founding father" of wireless communications. In 1938, while only in his teens, he invented a hand-held mobile radio operating above 200 MHz, an unexplored part of the radio frequency spectrum at that time. Other ham radio operators, commenting on Al Gross' habit of walking and talking at the same time, inspired the name of his invention: "Walkie Talkie."

The US Department of Defense recruited Al Gross to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in late 1940. He helped develop a ground-to-air battery operated radio that could transmit up to 30 miles. With the outbreak of World War II Al helped design the highly secretive, "Joan-Eleanor," the ultra-high frequency miniature two-way radio system. This "Joan-Eleanor" was considered one of the most spectacular radio developments during the wartime. After the war Al Gross started his own company to develop the hand held radio technology. He created a citizen's band radio. He also invented a prototype pager in 1949. One of his inventions, the two-way wrist watch radio, was immortalized in Chester Gould's famous cartoon strip, Dick Tracy

In this session speakers will discuss several of Al Gross' inventions and the impact of these inventions in today's wireless communication system.

10:10­11:50 am

TH2A Millimeter-wave Signal Sources

Chair: J.H. Kuno Co-chair: R. Alm

This session covers developments in mm-Wave signal sources utilizing a variety of technologies, including Si, GaAs/InGaP HBT and SiGe devices. The papers describe the design of practical-applications-oriented approaches which are consistent with the requirements of today's cost sensitive and manufacturing oriented communication system products.

This session addresses noise issues for active filters and presents two basic building blocks for active filters. We will also present a planar topology suitable for wireless applications and an alternative topology for broadband edge-coupled filters. The final paper presents a mm-wave filter suitable for flip-chip applications.

This session presents state-of-the-art data on W-band to 2.7 THz multipliers and mixers. The opening paper presents the fabrication and performance of a 2.7 THz monolithic membrane diode tripler. This is followed by a paper on fabrication of 0.2 to 2.7 THz devices using several different techniques. In the third paper, the authors demonstrate a 200-300 GHz SIS mixer amplifier with 8 GHz IF bandwidth. Several submillimeter-wave multipliers using substrateless Schottky diode circuits configurations are presented in the fourth paper. The next paper presents a 76.5 GHz low cost flip-chip I-Q mixer for automotive applications. The sixth paper presents a first-time demonstration of a 1.2 THz LO chain using planar devices, performance of which supersedes current state-of-the-art whisker contacted devices. In the last paper, 5 mW output power is demonstrated at 290 GHz with an heterostruture barrier tripler.

The explosion of wireless communication systems with digital modulation has increased the importance of characterizing non-linear system components, especially power amplifiers. This session will address the general area of non-linear measurements with several specific treatments of distortion metrics for power amplifiers.

The FCC is planning an initiative to remove existing regulatory barriers to commercial use at 92 to 95 GHz, an area where MIMIC-developed device technology exists. Panelists will discuss what commercial applications are possible, and what the regulatory framework should be. This will be a rare opportunity to participate in the creation of a new commercial band for microwave technology.

1:20­3:00 pm

TH3A Multi-layer Packaging Techniques

Chair: K. Varian Co-chair: J. Pavio

This session includes papers on through-the-substrate interconnection techniques and multi-layer system on a package (SOP) technologies. A via fence structure for crosstalk reduction will be presented, and coupling between microstrip lines embedded in polyimide layers will be addressed. Frequency-variant characteristics of silicon substrates will be analyzed. The final three papers address the development of integrated passives and the design of a highly integrated transceiver module in multi-layer packaging technologies.

Low cost filters with high RF performance and mass production capability are focused in this session. Dual/Triple mode filters reduce the size and can easily realize quasi-elliptic response. The session provides novel designs and applications and covers the important frequency ranges from mobile bands to Ka-band.

Recent advances in Si and GaAs semiconductor technologies offer innovative solutions to meet the demands of communications systems. 0.18 µm Si CMOS technology, 3-D MMIC components, deep trench guard and buried ground plane technologies all combine to offer potential for the development of a system on a chip using low cost Si technology. InP processes continue their evolution with the development of HBT on GaAs. The first two papers offer a snapshot of 0.18 µm RF-CMOS technologies that can provide integrated multi-function capabilities for analog, RF and digital building blocks. The challenges to overcome crosstalk/ isolation limitations of bulk CMOS process are addressed in the third and fourth papers using novel buried ground plane and deep trench guard structures. The fifth paper reports on low loss passive components using trench-type transmission lines implemented in a 3-D MMIC process. The session ends with a paper that addresses metamorphic InP HBT technology that may enable significant cost savings by putting high performance InP devices on low-cost GaAs substrates.

The majority of the papers in this session present investigations on various aspects of interconnect technology. The session begins with three papers on flip-chip and ball- grid array techniques. The next four papers describe work on transition and interconnect techniques between various transmission lines. The final paper discusses an approach for automatic tuning of filters for high volume production techniques.

Frequency domain electromagnetic (EM) techniques have become a critical part of the high frequency design process. This session describes enhancements to EM techniques for future design efforts. One paper discusses a new approach to gradient evaluation appropriate for optimization of circuits using EM analysis, and another paper describes improved efficiency for mode matching analysis of waveguide junctions. The remaining papers describe modifications that result in improved speed of analysis for planar circuits.

This session presents advances in state-of-the-art low noise amplifiers and noise modeling techniques. Two millimeter-wave InP low noise amplifiers, one hybrid and the other monolithic, report record low noise performance. The next paper proposes an analytical model for estimating the dynamic range of an FET amplifier. The final two papers describe noise models for HBTs in GaInP/GaAs and InP/InGaAs technologies. The first includes the low frequency noise and the second establishes scaling rules for HBTs.

This workshop will explore the extent to which electromagnetic (EM) solvers are being successfully used in industrial applications. The workshop will attempt to identify the successful uses, the practical ramifications of solver limitations, and identify those areas where solver developers need to focus their future work. Accordingly, the workshop will have a three-fold focus as follows:

1. To learn about the successful applications of EM solvers to problems faced by the industrial community. It is anticipated that frequency-domain solvers are more mature and are finding their way into use. We want to learn about these successes. However it will also be of considerable interest to learn whether industry has made progress in applying time-domain solvers. It will be of interest to learn whether EM solvers are being used to study EM interactions of circuit features that are supposed to be isolated within packages

2. To learn about how the time- (and possibly storage-) intensive nature of these computations is limiting the application of EM solvers in the industrial setting. It will be of interest to learn how this affects the types of problems for which industrial users find them valuable. It will be of interest to learn whether industry is making use of the ability of time-domain EM solvers to address nonlinear behavior in components.

3. To learn about those aspects of EM solvers that industrial users would like to see improved. Are solvers as user-friendly as they need to be? To what extent can a traditional RF or microwave design engineer make use of these solvers without dedicating their career to becoming the guru on this subject within their company? What kind of advancements need to be made in the state of commercially available EM solvers? For which computing platforms and operating systems is it desired to have EM solvers available?

WFB: RF Passive Component Evaluation Techniques

Today's wireless electronic equipment is continuing to place more stringent requirements on RF components. The advent of new technology RF components is giving circuit designers the ability to meet their requirements if they can verify how those components actually will work in their designs.

This workshop will cover impedance measurements including definitions, measurement technique selection, compensation and error-correction, and fixturing. The impedance portion will close with a discussion and measurement examples of RF inductors and capacitors. The workshop will also review basic 2-port device evaluation with an emphasis on RF filters.

2001 RFIC Symposium Technical Program

Monday, May 21, 2001

8:00­11:00 am

MON1A Advances in RF CMOS RFIC Plenary Session

Chair: D. Lovelace Co-chair: S. Kiaei

The Plenary session focus will be on the next generation of RF technologies. The first keynote talk will address wireless LAN and the second keynote talk will discuss the next generation of high frequency, high speed CMOS frequency generation circuits.

This session covers RF power amplifier design and performance. Submissions include circuit designs in InGaP HBTs, SiGe HBTs, Si CMOS, and SOI LDMOS semiconductor technologies. The first paper in the session describes the design and performance of a 50 percent efficient WCDMA PA fabricated in InGaP HBT technology. A flip-chip SiGe HBT amplifier operating in the 1.8 GHz frequency band is reported in the second paper. A novel capacitance cancellation technique applied to a CMOS Class AB power amplifier is presented. The final paper in this session evaluates the RF power and PAE performance of the LDMOSFET in both Silicon and SOI.

Successful development of RF integrated circuits requires accurate modeling of both passive and active components. In addition to on-chip passive components, the selected package for the IC is an important consideration in realizing high performance. Additionally, probing techniques applied at the circuit board level can provide further insight into complex interactions. This session will focus on advances reported in these areas.

This session concentrates on RF and DC control circuitry for the Rx and Tx components. A power controller circuit for a dual-band TDMA PA realized in silicon technology is presented in the first paper. A logarithmic CMOS detector circuit having 50 dB dynamic range and operating at 450 MHz is described in the next paper. The third paper describes an antenna/switch filter module integrating GSM/DCS/PCS diplexer functions, and a performance enhancement antenna switching circuit using a LTCC substrate. The final paper in the session presents the results of a silicon bipolar based PCS band CDMA PA with an integrated impedance control biasing scheme.

TUE3F-1: Power Controller for Dual Band TDMA Power Amplifiers S. Weber